Is the UN Unfixable?

My gut feeling says that it would take a major overhaul of the UN to make it work. However, there are too many nations that rely on the UN in its present form to make such reform a real possibility. The corruption, neglect, and failure to stop genocide, is a direct result of the makeup of the member nations. These are nations that see the UN as the major (or only) countervailing force against the will of the United States.

The UN is the main way that many of these nations direct anger at their own governments outwards, so as to prolong the lives of those decrepit regimes. This includes such luminaries as Sudan, the Ba'athists in Iraq, Syria, and Iran.

America has been the greatest financial supporter of the UN since its creation. We now send about $7 billion a year in dues and contributions to many of its agencies. In return, we get the massive corruption that pervades the UN system, endless anti-Americanism in the General Assembly, and UN initiatives that infringe on our personal freedoms, our ability to trade with other nations, and on our nation's sovereignty.

There is no way to fix the UN, because to do so would require that the votes of the despots and dictators be taken away and the democracies who are routinely outvoted and shouted down be the only voting members. There's only one solution to the problems of the UN: America must leave and form a new organization of democracies to try to deal with the problems we face together.

Since the US controls the purse strings to the tune of 20-25% of funding, one should hope that Congress would do more to demand oversight and reforms at the UN. Yet, Congress regularly has sidestepped the issue, all while the UNSCAM scandal has grown to epic proportions.

The idea of an organization of democracies is an interesting one, but how would one define democracy for purposes of entry into this new group. This is but one of many unanswered questions about the alternatives.

That these alternatives are being floated with regularity and seriousness shows that the UN is truly in dire need of change.

Technorati: Human Rights, Genocide